Health Benefits of Coconut Milk

Improves Heart Health by Lowering Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Coconuts are one of the best sources of lauric acid — 50 percent of the fat in coconuts is lauric acid, which has antibacterial and antiviral activities. According to many studies, lauric acid is a protective type of fatty acid linked with improved cholesterol levels and heart health.

Builds Muscle and Helps Lose Fat Studies find that medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) fatty acids found in coconut milk increase energy expenditure and help enhance physical performance. Following exercise, muscles also need plenty of nutrients — including electrolytes like magnesium and potassium that are found in coconut milk — to repair broken down tissue and grow back even stronger. Because coconut milk is high in healthy fats, it also helps fill you up and prevent overeating or snacking throughout the day, which derail your efforts to improve your body composition.

Provides Electrolytes and Prevents Fatigue Although coconut water is a higher source of electrolytes, coconut milk also provides important minerals needed to maintain blood volume, regulate heart health, and prevent dehydration or diarrhea. Especially in very hot weather, following exercise or after being sick, electrolytes help prevent exhaustion, heat strokes, heart problems, muscle aches or cramps, and low immunity. Coconut milk also contains the types of MCTs that are easily used by your brain for energy, without even needing to be processed through your digestive tract with bile acids like some other fats. Coconut milk's calories provide a quick and efficient source of healthy calories for the brain, which is actually primarily made up of fat and relies on a steady stream of it to function.

Helps Lose Weight According to a study done by the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition at McGill University, consumption of a diet rich in MCTs results in greater loss of fat (adipose tissue) compared with long-chain fatty acids, perhaps due to increased energy expenditure and fat oxidation observed with MCT intake. MCTs may be considered as agents that aid in the prevention of obesity or potentially stimulate weight loss. As a food high in MCTs, coconut milk is a very filling, fat-burning food. Fats provide the feeling of being full and satisfied and can help prevent overeating, snacking, food cravings and potentially weight gain. Of course, portion control is important considering the calorie count of coconut milk, but as a part of a healthy diet it provides necessary fatty acids in addition to other minerals that support weight loss and detoxification. Coconut milk is also hydrating and helps the digestive organs, like the liver and kidneys, function properly, which helps metabolize fat and remove waste from the body.

Improves Digestion and Relieves Constipation A well-hydrated digestive tract is important for preventing or treating constipation. Coconut milk nourishes the digestive lining due to its electrolytes and healthy fats, improving gut health and preventing conditions like IBS.

Prevents Ulcers Another benefit of coconut milk nutrition that surprise youResearchers found that coconut milk can help reduce the occurrence of ulcers even better than coconut water. When rats with ulcers were given coconut milk, they experienced a reduction in the size of ulcers of about 56 percent. The study found that coconut milk had protective effects on the ulcerated gastric mucus that can lead to painful ulcers.

Prevents Joint Inflammation and Arthritis Coconut milk's MCTs can help lower inflammation, which is associated with painful conditions like arthritis and general joint or muscle aches and pains. Coconut milk in place of refined sugar especially is helpful for people with arthritis (or other autoimmune conditions) because sugar is a pro-inflammatory and linked to low immunity, worsened pain and swelling.

Applying coconut milk on your scalp gives a cooling sensation. It nourishes your hair by giving natural moisture from roots to ends. You can apply some fresh homemade coconut milk and massage for three to five minutes. Leave it for 20 minutes and shampoo your hair as usual. This will boost the hair follicles and stimulate hair growth. This is particularly beneficial for restoring dry, damaged, weakened and brittle hair as well as split ends.

Coconut milk used with some other organic compounds can be extremely beneficial for hair growth. For this purpose, you can mix around 50 ml of coconut milk with 100 ml of plain water and add a few tablespoons of camphor solution to the mixture. This mix is quite helpful for people with balding problems. Massage you scalp including the bald spots with this mixture and leave it for a couple of hours. Rinse off with warm water and placing a towel on your head, allow it to disappear naturally instead if rubbing your hair dry.

Coconut milk is a great organic hair conditioner to provide you with longer and thicker hair. You can take equal amounts of coconut milk and shampoo in your hands and rinse your hair as usual. You can also use it as a leave in conditioner which gives added volume to your hair without making them greasy. Take a small amount of coconut milk on your palm and rub your hands together. Bend forward such that your hair is flowing towards the floor and rub the coconut milk on your hair from roots to ends including the underside of your hair at the nape of your neck.

Due to its soothing properties, coconut milk is a great moisturizer that can replace moisture in dehydrated skin. Try adding a cup of rose petals, half a cup of rose water and a cup of coconut milk to lukewarm bath water. Soaking in this bath for about 15 minutes will help restore moisture to dry skin. You can directly rub coconut milk on your skin and leave it for 30 minutes to get absorbed. This will combat dryness and promote healthy and glowing skin. But make sure that you use fresh homemade coconut milk for this purpose.

Applying plain coconut milk is effective in treating sun damaged skin. All you need to do is apply a thin layer of cool coconut milk to the sunburnt area. The fats and oil in this milk help reduce redness and restore moisture to sunburnt skin. Applying coconut milk topically on the affected areas and leaving it overnight or bathing in it can ease the pain ofburns or rashes caused by exposure to sun.

Consumption or application of coconut milk improves skin elasticity due to its copper and vitamin C content. These nutrients slow down the ageing process of your skin and body by maintaining flexibility and elasticity of the skin and blood vessels. Thus, it prevents wrinkles, sagging skin and age spots.

Due to its moisturizing properties, coconut milk can soothe the symptoms of psoriasis, dermatitis and eczema. The natural fatty acids in this milk can help treat dry and irritated skin and remove harmful bacteria from your skin.

Coconut milk can be used as make-up remover. You can mix coconut oil and milk in the ratio of 1:2 and use this concoction to remove eye make-up as well as moisturize skin. Thus, it is a great alternative for harsh alcohol ridden chemicals to get rid of make-up around the most sensitive area of your face.So, this was about coconut milk nutrition facts and benefits of drinking coconut milk. Now, let's see how can you prepare coconut milk at home.

The fat content of coconut milk can help slow the rate at which sugar is released into the bloodstream, better controlling insulin levels and preventing a "sugar high" or worse, conditions like diabetes. This is one reason why coconut milk is especially good to add to sweetened recipes, like desserts. Coconut milk's MCTs are also a preferred source of energy for the body rather than sugar.